Dioceses of Lichfield and Singapore in new strategic mission partnership

The Anglican Dioceses of Lichfield and Singapore have announced a new strategic mission partnership.

The announcement was made at a service in Lichfield Cathedral on Sunday at which existing agreements between the Diocese of Lichfield and Anglican dioceses in Malaysia, Canada and South Africa were renewed.

The new agreement was signed by the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, and the Dean of Singapore, the Very Rev Kuan Kim Seng, on behalf of Archbishop John Chew. It means that the Diocese of Lichfield is now linked with all four dioceses in the Province of South East Asia; and with the new missionary deaneries being created by the Province in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Nepal. The new deaneries are a sign of the rapid growth of the Anglican Church in the region and are expected to become fully fledged dioceses in their own right.

The new agreement with the Diocese of Singapore, and the renewal of the agreements with the dioceses of West Malaysia (Malaysia), Kuching (Malaysian Borneo), Qu'Appelle (Canada) and Matlosane (South Africa) came at the end of two weeks of international mission activity taking place in and around the Lichfield Diocese under the banner CrossTalk.

Around 35 local parish missions have taken place, involving visiting clergy, laity and young people from the dioceses already mentioned, plus Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Mecklenburg in north-east Germany. In addition to the local missions there has also been an international mission conference, and a festival celebrating the work of the different dioceses.

Archbishop John Chew, Bishop of Singapore and Primate of South East Asia, is currently in England supporting the Archbishop of Canterbury ahead of the Lambeth Conference as a member of the Windsor Continuation Group, working on issues of Anglican Identity and the Covenant Process.

Speaking after the agreements were signed, the Bishop of Lichfield told the congregation: "You have just witnessed something very important and worth keeping a moments silence to thank God for it and for the effect it will have on the worldwide church and our history."

The agreement between the Lichfield and Singapore lasts for five years. It states: "In affirmation of our companionship in the Gospel within the Anglican Communion and in appreciation of the friendship we already enjoy, we undertake to work together and learn from each other as companions in mission for the next five years by promoting deeper friendships and awareness of our mutual responsibility for and accountability to one another and to our Lord Jesus Christ; praying regularly and with understanding for each other at all levels in the life of our dioceses; seeking always the guidance and prompting of the Holy Spirit in what we do together in our commitment to and involvement in God's mission; and in all of this, accepting our responsibility for the integrity and sustainability of God's creation."

The agreements between Lichfield and Kuching, West Malaysia, Qu'Appelle and Matlosane are for 10 years.

Last night's service was the final diocesan-wide CrossTalk event before the majority of delegates return home. The younger members will remain in Lichfield for an international youth conference next weekend and the bishops will leave for the Lambeth Conference on Wednesday.

Also emerging from last night's gathering was a reassurance from Archbishop David Moxon, co-presiding bishop in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, that there will be no formal schism in the Anglican Communion.

He said: "I think even as recently as the last couple of weeks we have not heard a move for formal schism. But what we need is not discussions about schism or not, we need discussions about why we need each other.

"You know, an eye can not say to another part of the body 'I do not need you'. And what we have seen this evening in Lichfield Cathedral is celebrating our need of each other as members of one body, litteraly, hands, feet, eye, needing each other to be the body. That's the bottom line, that's the plain truth.

"And the more we celebrate that and pray into that the more red-blooded our Anglican Communion will be. So I don't see formal schism lying ahead so long as we have evenings like this one."